Abbey Treasures

The North Transept

The north transept became known as Statesmen's Aisle following the burial of Prime Minister William Pitt, Earl of Chatham in 1778. The stained glass in the north rose window was designed by Sir James Thornhill in 1722, although it was altered in the late 19th century by J.L.Pearson. The three small chapels on the eastern side of this transept contain some fascinating monuments including that by Roubiliac to Lady Elizabeth Nightingale (pictured) which shows a skeletal figure of Death emerging from a cavern to aim his dart at the dying lady.

In the north ambulatory can be found the large memorial to General James Wolfe.

Famous People in this location

The upper Islip chapel was dedicated as the Nurses Memorial chapel in 1950 in memory of UK and Commonwealth nurses who died in the 1939-45 war (this chapel can be viewed on application to the information desk). Many fine Elizabethan monuments can be seen in St John the Baptist's chapel and St Paul's chapel, including the tallest monument in the Abbey (36 feet) to Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon.

The Nave

When Henry III died in 1272 the building of the Gothic Abbey was not complete and part of the Norman nave remained attached to the new work. The present nave was nearly 150 years in building. It was begun in 1376 by Abbot Nicholas Litlyngton, who financed the work with money left by his predecessor Cardinal Simon Langham. The master mason was the great Henry Yevele, who followed closely the earlier Gothic style of architecture. Flying buttresses on the exterior took the thrust of the walls and enabled the roof to be raised to a height of 101 feet (31 metres). Richard II and Henry V later provided finance to continue the building but it was not finished until 1517, when the west window was glazed.

The choir screen has a monument to Sir Isaac Newton, in an area often referred to as Scientists Corner.

The West Window

The present stained glass in the west window dates from 1735. The design is probably by Sir James Thornhill and the work was carried out by the glass-painter William Price. The design shows Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and fourteen prophets. At the base are the coats of arms of King Sebert, Elizabeth I, George II, Dean Wilcocks (the Dean at the time) and the City of Westminster.

Just below this window you find the grave of the Unknown Warrior which commemorates the many thousands killed in the 1914-18 war who have no grave.

The Waterford crystal chandeliers were the gift of the Guinness family for the Abbey's 900th anniversary in 1965.

In front of the votive candle stands are two icons, one depicting Christ and the other showing the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. These were painted by Sergei Federov and installed in 1994. Near the entrance to St George’s chapel (which is set aside for private prayer) is the earliest known contemporary portrait of an English king, Richard II, painted in about 1395. In a case nearby are seven volumes which form the Roll of Honour of the Civilian War Dead 1939-45.

Famous People in this location

The ancient Coronation Chair has recently been conserved and can now be viewed in St George's chapel.

Just outside the west door is the circular memorial to Innocent Victims of Oppression, Violence and War, dedicated in 1996. Above the west porch are statues of ten modern martyrs, unveiled in 1998.

The Quire

The choir was originally the part of the Abbey in which the monks worshipped, but there is now no trace of pre-Reformation fittings, for in the late eighteenth century Henry Keene, the then Surveyor, removed the thirteenth-century stalls and designed a smaller Choir. This was in turn destroyed in the mid-nineteenth century by Edward Blore, who created the present Choir in Victorian Gothic style and removed the partitions which until then had blocked off the transepts.

It is here that the choir, of twenty-two boys and twelve Lay Vicars (the name given to the men of the choir), sings the daily Services.

The Organ with cases designed by J.L.Pearson and placed above the Choir screen, was originally built by Christopher Shrider in 1727. Successive rebuildings in the nineteenth century and in 1909 and 1937 and extensive work in 1983 and 1987 have resulted in the present instrument. Orlando Gibbons and Henry Purcell are two of the great musicians who have been Organists at Westminster Abbey.

The black and white marble floor in the Quire was the gift of Dr Richard Busby in 1677.

The north choir aisle

The north choir aisle is known as Musicians’ Aisle where the following people are buried

The High Altar

The Sanctuary is the heart of the Abbey, where the High Altar stands. The altar and reredos above it were designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1867. The Last Supper mosaic is by Antonio Salviati. On the altar are two candlesticks bought with money bequeathed by a serving maid called Sarah Hughes in the 17th century. The inscription along the top reads "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ" (from the book of Revelation). There are four large statues of Moses, St Peter, St Paul and King David flanking the altar and the doors leading into St Edward's chapel, which is immediately behind the screen. Also in this area is the Abbey Lectern, given in memory of the missionary William Carey.

In front of the High Altar is another of the Abbey's treasures - a marble pavement dating from 1268. The method of its decoration is known as Cosmati work, after the Italian family who developed the technique of inlaying intricate designs, made up of small pieces of coloured marble, into a plain marble ground. Materials used include onyx, porphyry, serpentine and coloured glass. It is 24 feet 10 inches square and there were three Latin inscriptions incorporated in it. One calculated that the world would last for 19,683 years. The pavement has recently undergone restoration.

To the south of the Altar is the ancient Sedilia, or seats for the priests, with two paintings of kings, thought to be Henry III and Edward I. The tomb of Anne of Cleves is on the south side. To the north of the Altar are three medieval tombs.

The Cosmati Pavement

The great pavement in front of the High Altar of Westminster Abbey is a unique and remarkable object. The complexity and subtlety of the design and workmanship can be seen nowhere else on this scale. It was laid down in 1268 by order of Henry III who had started re-building Edward the Confessor’s Abbey in the new Gothic style in 1245.

The shrine of St. Edward the Confessor

The Chapel containing the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor, lies east of the Sanctuary at the heart of the Abbey. It is closed off from the west by a stone screen, probably of 15th century date, carved with scenes from the Confessor's life. Work is in progress to conserve the floor of this chapel and during this time public access is restricted.

An earlier shrine had been erected in 1163, after the Confessor had been canonised. When Henry III rebuilt Edward's Abbey he prepared a new shrine, bringing workmen from Italy. Peter the Roman was the chief artist. On 13 October 1269 the body was brought in solemn procession to its new resting place. The shrine seen today is only a shadow of its former self. It originally had three parts: a stone base decorated with Cosmati work, a gold feretory containing the saint's coffin, and a canopy above it, which could be raised to reveal the feretory or lowered to cover it. The shrine was decorated with gold images of kings and saints. Many sick people came to the shrine to pray for a cure and the steps in the recesses of the shrine base are worn away by the knees of pilgrims. At the Reformation the shrine was dismantled and stored by the monks, although the gold feretory was taken away. The Confessor's body was buried in another part of the Abbey. In the reign of Mary I the shrine was rebuilt. The Purbeck marble base was re-assembled but little care was taken to match the carvings and designs which decorated it. In absence of a feretory the coffin was placed in a hollow in the top part of the stone base, where it still remains. The wooden canopy has been restored and re-painted.

Around the shrine are the tombs of:

To the east, under his chantry chapel, lies Henry V. There are two small tombs to Margaret, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VII. A brass on the floor covers the grave of John of Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury.

The chapel has a Cosmati floor, similar to that in front of the High Altar. The present altar dates from 1902.

The Lady Chapel

The Lady Chapel was begun in 1503 and constructed at the expense of Henry VII. It is the last great masterpiece of English medieval architecture. In 1545 John Leland called it "the wonder of the entire world". Unfortunately the names of the master masons who designed it are not known but they were possibly Robert Janyns and William Vertue. The chapel is approached by a flight of stairs and at the entrance are finely wrought bronze gates displaying royal Tudor emblems.

The outstanding feature of the chapel is the spectacular fan-vaulted roof with its carved pendants. Around the walls are 95 statues of saints (PDF). Behind the altar is the tomb of Henry VII and his queen Elizabeth of York. The bronze screen around it is by Thomas Ducheman and the gilt bronze effigies and Renaissance tomb were designed by Italian Pietro Torrigiano. James I is also buried in the vault beneath the monument.

In 1725 the chapel was first used for installations of Knights of the Order of the Bath and the heraldic banners of living knights hang above the oak stalls. Beneath the hinged seats of the stalls are beautifully carved misericords.

At the east end is the Royal Air Force chapel. The stained glass window by Hugh Easton depicts the badges of the fighter squadrons that took part in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Above, in the main east window, is stained glass designed by Alan Younger, installed in 2000. In May 2013 two new windows designed by Hughie O’Donoghue were installed either side of the central east window. Predominantly blue in colour they incorporate emblems related to the Blessed Virgin Mary including lilies and stars. All three eastern windows were presented by Lord and Lady Harris of Peckham.

Famous people buried here

The painting of the Virgin and Child on the altar is by Bartolomeo Vivarini (Venetian School, about 1480). It was presented to the Abbey in 1935.

The heraldic west window, designed by John Lawson, contains the coats of arms, initials and cyphers of donors to the Abbey’s restoration appeal 1973-95, those concerned with fundraising and some of those involved in the actual restoration work. It especially honours Sir John Templeton, a major benefactor. Smaller stained glass windows in the side chapels also honour major donors to the appeal.

South Transept

The South Transept is lit by a large rose window, with glass dating from 1902. Beneath it, in the angles above the right and left arches, are two of the finest medieval carvings in the Abbey, depicting censing angels. In addition to the many monuments, there are two fine late thirteenth-century wall paintings, uncovered in 1936, to be seen by the door leading to St. Faith's Chapel. They depict Christ showing his wounds to Doubting Thomas, and St. Christopher. At one time the south wall supported the dorter staircase, used by monks going from their dormitory to the Choir for their night offices. No sign of the staircase exists but if you look inside St. Faith's chapel you will see the passage leading to the staircase.

Poets' Corner

One of the best known parts of Westminster Abbey, Poets' Corner can be found in the South Transept. It was not originally designated as the burial place of writers, playwrights and poets; the first poet to be buried here, Geoffrey Chaucer, was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey because he had been Clerk of Works to the palace of Westminster, not because he had written the Canterbury Tales.

Over 150 years later, during the flowering of English literature in the sixteenth century, a more magnificent tomb was erected to Chaucer by Nicholas Brigham and in 1599 Edmund Spenser was laid to rest nearby. These two tombs began a tradition which developed over succeeding centuries.

Burial or commemoration in the Abbey did not always occur at or soon after the time of death. Lord Byron, for example, whose lifestyle caused a scandal although his poetry was much admired, died in 1824 but was finally given a memorial only in 1969. Even Shakespeare, buried at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616, had to wait until 1740 before a monument, designed by William Kent, appeared in Poets' Corner.

Other poets and writers, well known in their day, have now vanished into obscurity, with only their monuments to show that they were once famous.

Conversely, many whose writings are still appreciated today have never been memorialised in Poets' Corner, although the reason may not always be clear.

Burials and Memorials

Not all those buried in the South Transept are poets or writers. Several of Westminster's former Deans and Canons lie here. Also buried here is Thomas Parr, who was said to have died at the age of 152 in 1635 after having seen ten sovereigns on the throne during his long life.

The grave and monument of the famous composer George Frederic Handel can also be seen here, as well as the graves of David Garrick, Shakespearean actor, and Laurence Olivier, actor of our age.

The Cloisters

The Cloister were, in pre-Reformation days, one of the busiest parts of the monastic precincts and, with windows filled with glass, rushes strewn on the floor and braziers burning, would have been cosier than they seem today. They were used by the monks for meditation and exercise, besides providing access to the main monastic buildings.

In the West Cloister, the novices were instructed by the Novice Master. Also located here was the washing place. The north walk was for private study, equipped with bookcases and tables and seats below the windows. The south walk was the way to the Refectory where meals were taken, while the east walk led to the Chapter House.

It was in the East Cloister, in monastic times, that the Abbot held his Maundy on the Thursday of Holy Week each year. Thirteen aged men were seated on a stone bench and the Abbot washed their feet, wiped them with a towel and then kissed them. He then gave each man three pence, seven red herrings, some ale and three loaves of bread. Simultaneously, in the South Walk, the monks washed the feet of children, where their Maundy seat, 'a faire, long bench of stone', still exists.

Each of the four Cloisters is approximately 100 feet in length, dating mainly from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The Cloisters were rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1298.

The Chapter House is in the East Cloister and was the place where the day-to-day business of the monastery was discussed and tasks allocated. The Chapter House was also the place where Parliament met in the 14th century before transferring across the road to the Palace of Westminster.

Chapter House

In the East Cloister is the 'incomparable' octagonal Chapter House, dating from the 1250s. It is one of the largest in England. The monks met here every day for prayers and to read a chapter from the rule of St Benedict and discuss the day's work. The King's Great Council first assembled here in 1257. This was effectively the beginning of the English Parliament. The House of Commons used the room for several years in the late 14th century. After having been a repository for government records from the 1540s it was restored in Victorian times by Sir Gilbert Scott.

In the vestibule of the Chapter House is the oldest door in Britain, dated to the 1050s.

Pyx Chamber

This low vaulted room off the East Cloister is part of the Undercroft that was built about 1070 but was walled off from the rest of the room sometime in the 12th century. The chamber was probably made into a treasury in the 13th century and may have been used as a sacristy when Henry III was rebuilding the main Abbey.

It was best known as the home of the wooden boxes, called Pyxes, where a sample of the coinage of the realm was kept to await the "Trial of the Pyx". This was a public demonstration to show that the coinage was pure and samples of coins were "tried" by being melted down and the silver content measured. The Trial itself was never held in the Chamber but in the Palace of Westminster. It still takes place today in Goldsmiths' Hall in the City of London.